Monday | 8:15 ET
NFL fans will be treated to a Super Bowl rematch on Monday Night Football this week. No Super Bowl hangover has been present as the Chiefs come at 7-2, the Eagles 8-1. For Philadelphia, this matchup comes marks the beginning of a brutal stretch of games (Kansas City is followed up by Buffalo, San Fransisco, Dallas, and Seattle). The Eagles will look to avenge their Super Bowl LVII loss.
The matchup I’m the most excited for is the Eagles offense versus the Chiefs defense. Philly has been riding on the coattails of wide receiver AJ Brown, whose streak of six straight 125+ receiving yard games finally came to an end last week. He’s already over 1000 yards on the season. Brown will be seeing a lot of cornerbacks Jaylen Watson and L’Jarious Sneed in Week 11, which could bode well for him. Both CBs rank in the bottom quarter of the NFL in PFF coverage grade.
However, the Kansas City defense as a whole has been phenomenal. It has allowed the least amount of points in the NFL this season. Despite giving up the sixth highest yards per carry, the unit has allowed the least rushing touchdowns in the league (3). The group excels against the pass. It has given up the fourth-least passing yards and the second-lowest net yards per pass attempt in the NFL this year.
The Eagles rank in the top-10 in both rushing and passing yards, so they are balanced. However, the are more efficient in the passing game, coming in at 8th in net yards per pass attempt and 19th in yards per carry. The Eagles will probably be inclined to lean on running back D’Andre Swift, who has not been running well lately (last four games: 2.4 Y/C, 3.6 Y/C, 4.1 Y/C, 1.8 Y/C, only one touchdown).
Also, the Chiefs haven’t been creating a lot of pressure, so I wouldn’t expect any this week against the amazing Philadelphia offensive line.
Switching sides, the Chiefs offense hasn’t been the machine that fans have grown accustomed to this year, but they’ve gotten the job done. With such a strong defense behind it, the offense hasn’t needed to score much. Still, the unit comes in at 7th in net yards per pass attempt, 7th in passing yards, and 7th in passing touchdowns. The running game with Isaiah Pacheco has been average. Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes. He’s thrown for 2,442 yards, 17 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He’ll face off against a great Eagles defense.
The Eagles rank first in QB pressures this year and fifth in sacks. The pass rush is something to be worried about. Philly has also given up the fourth-lowest yards per carry this season. They’ll easily be able to shut down Kansas City’s shaky rushing attack. However, they’ve given up the 7th most passing yards this season. Even with unreliable wide receivers, Patrick Mahomes should be able to exploit the Philadelphia secondary.
In the end, the Chiefs win this game. Their defense has been so good this year, especially against the pass. There is always a chance that AJ Brown has a monster game, but I think that the Kansas City secondary will contain him (for the most part). Mahomes will be able to move the ball through the air and ride his home-field advantage into another win over the Eagles.